Be inspired to change the way the you think so that you can navigate the challenges that you face in your everyday experience.
This blog hopes to inspire you to open your perspective so that your walk in life is filled with peace, love and light.
When you move from your mind and take your instructions from your heart centre, your light has the ability to not only shine brighter, but to influence the light in others around you.

My Favourite links

Friday, 20 December 2013

As this will be the last WOW for the year I will be honest with you that I struggled for a theme, as I had far too many that I wished to share! They ranged from my research into philosophy and why it is an important part of our existence to think and ponder deeply upon life as we know it; understanding the purpose of keeping your mind active by acquiring knowledge that enriches your being and the significance of the Winter Solstice and the various traditions that are linked to it. Knowledge is a beautiful thing! (Smile)

However, my heart was moved to end this year with one of love and gratitude.

A good practice that enriches the soul is to make time in remembering what we are grateful for every day. This is easily overlooked when our attention is focused upon some drama or another that is occurring in our world but this exercise is a gentle nudge that allows us to focus upon the present moment and not live in the past or the imagined future. Being grateful by saying thank you before you arise out of bed especially when you do not wish to face the day, changes your energy before your feet hit the floor.

On the days where I do not feel like getting up or going to work and my thought processes start bemoaning the drudgery of life all before I have even opened my eyes, I literally say in my head “stop,” and just say thank you to my bed. I know you may think I am a loon here but trust me, I love my bed and when I put my attention to how comfortable it is, how my duvet keeps me warm, how it is soft and luscious, I cannot help but smile and snuggle further into the sheets in bliss and gratitude. Moreover, I remind myself quickly that I will be back to snuggle again in no time at all thus changing my attitude from one of misery to one of joy and expectation. I also spare a thought to those who do not have the luxury of a comfortable bed and thus add humility to my gratitude.

The point here is to NOTICE the wonderful little pleasures that we take for granted and use them to shift our vibration and our energy to its natural and highest form.

Therefore, during this festive season, whether you are celebrating with family or on your own, look at what you do have in your life and not at what you don’t. Be thankful for every relationship that you have had this year, even those that have been difficult for you because ultimately there was a lesson to be learned. Appreciate those closest to you who put up with your mood swings, both your highs and low and look at how YOU can do better in the New Year.

Most of all look at your reflection in the mirror and be thankful to your-SELF. Appreciate your body that has been the wonderful vessel with which you communicate. Even if it is showing more signs of wear and tear, say thank you for its sustenance. Remember thoughts and words have energy and vibrations that change the molecular structure of your DNA so if you have thoughts of appreciation for your body, your body will in turn appreciate the spirit within.

May this festive season bring you more love, peace and joy into your hearts.

May you be blessed with abundance and prosperity.

May your spirit expand its loving kindness to all.

And may you realise your potential in the coming New Year.

Thank you for giving me this forum and I appreciate your individual light and the significance that you bring to this world.

Friday, 13 December 2013

There is a wonderful quote from the author and Minister Joel
Osteen that I wish to share with you:

“Whatever follows “I AM” is going to come looking for you”

I needed this reminder today because we inadvertently make statements
about ourselves forgetting that words have creative energy and power. It is important to master the art of
mindfulness because we have to be extremely cognizant of each word that we use
to describe ourselves, as they will
become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

When we arise in the morning and began our day with the
statement “I am so tired,” tiredness will come looking for you; when you tell
yourself “I am so fat”, well calories will definitely start blessing those
parts you wish they would not. However,
if you look at your reflection in the mirror and say “I am beautiful” then that
is exactly what you will see staring back at you because it all begins with the
WORD. Once you affirm the words repeatedly,
your feelings will then start to align with those words and the Universe has no
other choice but to make it your reality.

We have an awesome creative gift at our disposal, that if
used correctly it has the power to change not just the individual but also the
world in which we live.

Why are we so quick to put ourselves and sometimes others
down? I have to remind myself daily to
change what I say to myself and to my children because even in jest I realise
that my words when said about another has as much weight as if I say it to
myself. This is a big challenge for me but as I am so desirous of change, I am
confident that I will succeed.

I would like you to
recall all the “I am” declarations that you have made recently, especially
those that were self-deprecating and now replace them with words that carry a
higher vibration and energy such as:

I am Wonderful

I am Healthy

I am a Masterpiece

I am blessed

I am Lovable and Loved

Just for today, give the gift of love to yourself by
practising even more wonderful “I am” statements and then watch the miracles
appear in your life.

Friday, 6 December 2013

Welcome back to another round of the Word of the Week until
the Christmas close down. I hope you all
have been keeping well and more importantly, inspired to your greatness.

There is a lesson in the book A Course in Miracles that I
have had to repeat frequently of late and this is what I wish to share with you
today.

I can be hurt by NOTHING but my THOUGHTS

Just let this sentence marinate for a minute in your mind
and repeat it again. I know from personal
experience that my thoughts, my internal dialogue and my judgements that arise
about others are all contained within this sentence. This reminds me that I and only I create my
own anxieties, my own negative feelings and my bouts of victimisation. All of my thoughts that I construct create the
feelings that I feel and thus keep me in an illusion that I have no control
over my thoughts whatsoever. This
statement reminds me that I am the author, architect, director and indeed the
star of my own movie called life and it boils down to a simple question that I
can ask myself.

“Do I wish to
continue this particular thought and the associated feelings or am I willing to
choose again?” It is as simple as
that. In asking myself this question, I
give power back to me and not the ego.

For in truth we actually believe that we have no control
over our feelings, which are instigated by our thoughts, which we alone
create. Further, when you are in the
midst of a particularly negative spiral it can make you feel as if it is an impossibility
to pull yourself out of it. You feel as
if you have absolutely no control over the situation and literally submit to
the tirade of the ego’s onslaught of negativity. For the past few days, this has been my own
test, where I could feel bouts of negativity and anger seep into my mind and
have me act out in very unskilful ways.

This particular onslaught felt very determined to shake me
off my seat of peace and tranquillity, so I reached into my trusted toolkit and
first gave my thoughts to my inner guide for healing. A simple statement of,“I
give this situation to my inner guide to heal,” is all that I said, then I
moved out of the own way to let my miracle mind set do its work.

When I say move out of the way it means to let go of that
thought process and trust that your inner guide (your spiritual big Self) has
the strength, which you might find lacking, to change your mind to one of a
much higher vibration.

I am pleased to report that I am definitely back on
track. This exercise helps you to build
that much needed trust in your Big Self as well as a reminder that ALL your
solutions come from within.

Friday, 25 October 2013

I have often written about the power of the words that we use to describe ourselves, our situations and the people with whom we interact or speak about. Each word you say or think has an energy vibration that can either expand your awareness or limit it. When it is limited, you reduce the potential that you have for tapping into the great and infinite field of the prime source (light) energy that is governed by the law of attraction. The law of the Conservation of Energy states, “Energy cannot be naturally created or destroyed, it can however change in form.” When you recognise that you are part of the great oneness of all, this includes the sun, moon, stars, the planet and all beings, you remove the limitations that you are separate from this energy and thus learn to tap into it to your advantage.

Each word you say carries a vibration, positive words when viewed as a picture through sound waves have higher spikes and wider energy; negative words have the opposite, in that the energy is restricted. I know this all sounds extremely scientific but our bodies which house the spirit within is comprised of matter that created this planet and solar system; we are all one.

Mindfulness means that you are mindful as to what you think and what you say. When you speak words that carry a natural higher vibration, you not only increase your own vibration but of those that are around you and those much further afield. When you also acknowledge how powerful the mind is you learn to respect it by trying to keep it in a high vibratory mode. I had the opportunity this week to be an astute observer of the words that I used in my interactions. I found that I could think positive words but sometimes this did not translate correctly into sound and I had to catch myself many times from complaining. I also observed that I found it painful to hear negativity from anyone that I conversed with, even to the point that if one were even to complain about the state of the world or finances I would actually cringe. I recognised that I fell short in my translation of speaking high vibration words and vowed to do better each day.

We are part of an amazing planet and solar system. Our minds are conduits to tap into the field of infinite possibilities if we make a conscious decision to choose who will rule your mind. Will it be the voice of power, which is limitless and expansive, or will it be the voice of the ego, fearful and restrictive.

Just for today, be an observer of what you say, be mindful of the vibrational energy that you attract and give to others. Be responsible for the energy that you emit into the ether. We may not have the power to create or destroy this energy, but we certainly have the power to change its form.

Friday, 18 October 2013

When the world can seem like it is a bit too loud, too
raucous or too unkind; I step into stillness and withdraw. I limit my conversations and my interactions
and draw closer to the spirit within. My
spirit within is indeed my very best friend.
I can say that emphatically now because I have got to know her very
well. I am extremely honest with her,
she knows my fears, my anxieties, my perceived foibles but she loves me in
spite of it all. She holds no
judgements, offers forgiveness and sees the true intention behind everything I
say and do.

In order to get to this point in our relationship I had to
keep conversing with her, seeking her guidance, building up my trust in her and
most of the time just sitting in silence with her. Knowing that she is always available whenever
I needed her…no appointment necessary.

Just as you would put time and effort in developing
relationships outside of yourself, how much time and effort do you think you
could put to developing a relationship with your deeper self, the BIG self that
lives within you? We learned by habit to
listen to our ego self, to the point that our responses are automated. We do not even try to make a different choice
in our reactions; we actually believe the reactions that we give are our true selves when in fact it is
not. To know if you are living through
the ego or not, test yourself, one way that I found helpful was in any situation
where either I found myself being judgemental or at the point of reaction to a
person or a situation, I would give a pause.
My first thought in these situations are always to be monitored, which
means I would stop and slow down my world so that I could catch up. This is the reason for the pause, this allows
all the reactionary thoughts to have their say and then move out of the way for
the higher self to connect with you. Any
thoughts that cause you to become angry, that believes that you have been
affronted in any way, that create an “I am right, you are wrong” scenario, are
thoughts that require a pause. In
addition, thoughts that follow on from this pause can be equally deceiving,
such as “I am taking the higher road so therefore that still makes me better
than you.” Again, this requires a pause,
because it leaves in its wake an underlying feeling of resentment.

Sometimes, it is wise to press pause in our speech and our
reactions; as the more we develop our relationship with your own inner “best friend”
the less reactionary we become.

“Silence is a source of Great Strength” - Lao Tzu

“Let us be silent, that we may hear the whispers of the gods.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

“True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit what sleep
is to the body, nourishment and refreshment.”
- William Penn

Friday, 11 October 2013

When I heard this quote this week, it resonated deeply within. I repeated the phrase to commit it to memory so that I could add it to my trusted tool kit, not realising that I would be pulling it out repeatedly this week and reminding myself of what it means. My understanding of this quote is about learning to accept whatever is going on in your life in the very moment it is happening, without the need for judgement, angst or victimhood. It is about accepting people, situations, circumstances and woes with grace. It is a reminder to catch yourself from complaining about your life and learn to be in the moment no matter what it brings.

So how do you actually LOVE what is? That one was tricky, how could I love that I was feeling extremely moody and short with my children one morning, or how could I love that my car needed repairs that I could not afford and would cause me dire financial hardship. “How am I to love what is?” I thought to myself. I repeated the phase again, aloud this time, “There is great strength in loving what is.” I realised, in that moment, that I had to accept and submit to the mood that I was in and not take on the associated guilt I felt for being quick tempered. I also used a favoured Hawaiian process called Ho’oponopono, which asks you to recite four sentences to yourself “I am sorry, please forgive me, I love you and thank you.” This allowed me the space to let go of my feelings of guilt. I also repeated the Hawaiian phrase out loud to my children, who looked upon me as if I was mad initially and then realising that I was sincere, they replied, “It’s alright mum.”

To love a moment in your life is to love yourself, it also means to be kind and forgiving to you, for as you give unto yourself you give to others. Many people find it difficult to say the words I love you to themselves, but find it easy to say it to others fervently. It took me a while to be comfortable with telling myself this but I say it repeatedly throughout the day now and mean it! I realised in order for me to love what is, I had to love me without reservation. In doing so, I accepted full responsibility for my circumstances, for my actions and for whatever situation that I had attracted. This gave me great strength, because I was no longer a victim to circumstance because I ultimately had the power to choose how I was going to view it.

Just for today, make a concerted effort, in this very moment, to find strength in loving what is.

Friday, 4 October 2013

The definition of grace is as follows: Elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion or action, a pleasing or attractive quality, a manifestation of favour, especially by a superior. This made me consider what does it mean to live in Grace? The book entitled A Course in Miracles states the following:

“Grace is the acceptance of the love of God. It returns the mind to the endless present where the past and future cannot be conceived.”

For my own interpretation it means letting go of all the thoughts that I have created about the world and myself, so that I can step into a realm of peace even for a moment. Our default setting has us trying to manipulate people, events, circumstances and our lives to go in our favour, not realising that all we are doing is creating more of that which we truly do not want.

Grace means to surrender to a power greater than your own limited view. Whether you call this power God/Goddess/Higher Self/ Inner Guide/the Universe…..whatever name you choose to give it, it remains as the original essence with which you were born. It is this light that emanates from deep within you, which is your own personal connection to the source of all creation. This power, this strength, offers you peace, which is ultimately the state of grace that you seek.

In the above definition, it mentions that you keep your focus firmly fixed upon the present moment and this is the key to obtaining grace in the moment. When you bring your attention to the ever present now, all thoughts of past and future are forgotten, only this moment, this second, this NOW exists. This requires you to stretch beyond your limiting beliefs and not listen to the negative chatter, to soak in your surroundings and just be. Loving and accepting this moment exactly as it is, having a sense of knowing that in truth, everything and I mean everything will be as it is supposed to be in your life when you surrender and relinquish control

.

Today, I wish to confer upon you the notion that you too can walk within the realms of grace today, even for a brief moment. You do not have to be religious to step into a moment of grace, all you have to do is stop for a second, in this moment of now, take three deep cleansing breaths and affirm:

Friday, 27 September 2013

Over the many years that I have been studying how to
navigate through life from a realm of peace and joy, I have picked up many
tools along the way that have greatly assisted this journey. I have learned that leaning upon my own fear
based thoughts do not serve me and now have a wonderful “go to” bag as it were
to help alleviate any angsts that I may come across on this sojourn. Today I would like you to look at your own
personal tool kits, your trusted go to methods that help you out of an
unpleasant feeling that you may be going through. Do you even have a tool kit?

When others view me, they see a strong, capable, confident
person that stands before them, vibrant and gregarious, practical and a little
bit scary. Peel beneath those layers and
you will find sensitivity, vulnerability, a few insecurities and many moments
of self-doubt. However, it is the tools that allow others to see the former and
not the latter. Even as I embrace ALL of
me, the many facets of my existence, I try to peel through those layers so that
I can reveal my true self, a loving, compassionate, forgiving being of light,
this is the place where I wish to reside all the time, this is my goal and my
purpose. Irrespective of any career or
financial goals that I have personally set, this ideal trumps all the material
aspects of my existence. So I ask again,
do you have a tool kit and more importantly are you using it?

To help you answer this question, your tools should enable
you to try to clear any anxiety, to help alleviate fearful thoughts and to
centre your thoughts to one of peace. If
we allow our egoic minds to take over, then we are indeed out of balance and
stepping into the realm of chaos. The
purpose is not to repress but to learn to live in peace with the ebb and flow
of life. For me, this week has
definitely been on the ebb and I have had to use many tools out of my kit to
restore me back to balance.

For example, when I
am fearful about finances I use gratitude from my tool kit and make a mental or
written list of everything that is truly wonderful in my life, even the
smallest of things gains my attention, like the first sip of my mochachino in
the morning, or the warm hug my daughter gives me. When I switch to a mode of gratitude, my soul
feels light and unburdened by the constricts of my mind.

Through these writings, my hope is to give you a few tools
with which you can use when you feel out of balance and to ascertain which ones
actually work for you. These tools build
up the mental muscles required to live
rather than to exist and now I know I could not live without them. Top of my list is meditation, prayer,
journaling and affirmations, these are essential for my mind and my soul, then
yoga and zumba for my body. The trinity
and the use of the three parts (mind, body and soul) is deeply rooted in the
annals of time pre dating Christian doctrine.
It is however essential to cultivate these three aspects. Unfortunately,
we tend to lean to the body as the first point of call, but it is to the spirit
and the deep connection to the soul, which desires our attention, because,
ultimately therein lies our freedom.

Friday, 20 September 2013

There is a phrase that I hear more frequently in my research
into a deeper understanding of my authentic self and that is “what you resist,
persists!” I tried to ascertain any
truth in these words by looking at my own experiences and seeing where in my
life was my resistance. Further, I began
to question why is it that resistance rears its head in respect to any personal
change that one wishes to make. I had no
idea where this train of thought would lead but was pleasantly surprised at the
results.

I researched “resistance” and one of the definitions, which
intrigued me, was that of electricity.
It stated that resistance occurs because the electrons (i.e. electrical
current) flows through a conductor (e.g. a wire) which then collide with the
ions in the conductor and depending upon
the size of the conductor determines the level of resistance. Therefore, if the
conductor is a thin wire i.e. lacking in space, its resistance is high, however
if you use a thicker wire i.e. one that has more space the result is lower
resistance.

I surmised that the electrical current within each of us is
our “God” energy and our bodies are the conductors with which the energy
flows. This energy then encounters
resistance dependent upon how open the thought processes of the conductor. If you bombard your mind with limiting
beliefs about yourself and your ability, you lack space, and the God energy
encounters high resistance from the egoic self.
However, when you open yourself to love and this love incorporates
forgiveness, the space becomes very wide and results in low resistance.

I wanted to know where I was on the scale of resistance in my
life and how did I impede the flow of energy through me. To do this I had to ask the simple question,
where was I lacking in love?

The more I learn to affirm a deep reverence for who I truly
am, the more I am open to flow with life rather than against it. A recent weekend communing with my dear
friends revealed to me such an area in my life whereby I was resistant to this
universal flow of energy.

Therefore, my question to you with which you can ponder over
this weekend, where in your life do
you feel that you are resistant to this universal flow?

If you do find such an area as I recently found, make it a
point to be extra loving and kind to yourself, because as you increase the
love, the resistance falls and the energy of life increases.

Friday, 13 September 2013

In the inner sanctum of the great Luxor Temple in Egypt, there are many proverbs inscribed around the entrance, one of the inscriptions is as follows:

“Man, know thyself……..and thou shalt know the gods.”

This morning as I meditated, my “small self” was trying to dominate my thoughts with my anxieties and fears. I felt a little bit perturbed by my train of thoughts but, having now trained my internal muscle not to succumb to the many machinations of my small mind, I handed this dilemma over to my big self. Now, for clarity, when I talk about my small self, I refer to this as my egoic fearful mind whose thoughts cause me anxiety, feelings of lack and tell me that I am not quite good enough. My big self however is my spiritual, all knowing, loving connection to the All there is; the Universal energy that is limitless, powerful and unafraid. My habitual small self who tried to control situations, scenarios, people etc. is frankly rubbish at it; therefore, I have learned that this part of me needs to get out of my own way and hand the controls over to someone more capable.

We all have the voices in our heads that either empower or debilitate us to some degree. It is however, learning to trust that big voice, leaning into it for guidance rather than using the other voice that has been fed from the world of fear. A great tool from the book A Course in Miracles was made very simple by the author Gabrielle Bernstein in her book May Cause Miracles. It describes a meditation that encourages you to permit this small voice to vent all of its anxieties and fears based thoughts. That simply means, you think of all your worst-case scenarios as if they are actually happening and ascertain where the physical manifestation occurs in your body. For example, you think about not being able pay your rent this month and there is a tightening in your stomach. Once you have pinpointed where in your body the feeling occurs you simply affirm:

“Inner guide, I give this situation to you for healing and I am willing to see this differently.”

You then hold on to this mantra mentally in your mind until the “physical” feeling dissipates. After which, either immediately or sometime in the future, you will be guided by thoughts and feelings from your inner guide giving you solution-orientated action with which to take.

This is the true meaning of knowing thyself; it is learning to trust that innate wisdom from within.

Just for today, surrender your small self’s control to the beautiful, all powerful being that is your reflection in the mirror, for when you know thyself…..you shall know the God within you!

Friday, 6 September 2013

As you know, the purpose of my weekly missive is to inspire you
to see the greatness in who you are; to recognise that you are a limitless and
powerful being whose unique gifts are to serve your highest good. I tend
to close my writings with the salutation “Nameste” and as I mulled over what I
was going to write this week, this phrase kept repeating itself in my head and
thus I am sharing with you.

Nameste is Hindu in origin and
it is a greeting where one places their hands together over their heart chakra
or their forehead (which signifies a deeper reverence) and bows. It
simply means that the greeter is bowing to the divine essence in that person.

When I say Nameste the
definition that I say immediately afterwards is, “The God/Goddess within me
bows to the God/Goddess within you.” I actually say this silently in my
head when I greet people now because it works as an excellent reminder that we
are all one. It helps me to lose my judgements on other people who may
not see the world as I do; it reminds me that even in the face of hostility,
there is still the divine essence that flows through me flows through
them. I can safely say that this is indeed an ideal that I hope to master
one day! Since in reality, I still succumb to the knee jerk reaction of
cursing someone out whilst driving in my car or indeed cussing someone in my
head when they are acting up in front of me (smile). However, I
often repeat the phrase and the meaning in my head to defuse such reactions in
the moment it occurs. This is because I know that I am trying to work on
myself daily to become a better person and to co-exist with all.
Further, I recognise that my accomplishments are also attainable by
the very same soul that stands before me. The only difference is
that they have not yet come to that understanding.

When you appreciate that your
loved ones, your friends, your work colleagues and every soul that exists, is a
reflection of your own self, you begin to adopt a reverence that goes deeper than
the surface and you acknowledge the interconnectedness of all
things.

We all have challenging relationships, especially with
those with whom we love or once loved, but when you react to an attack
situation based upon another person’s fear based projection, you further
increase that fear by defending yourself. This does not mean that
you dissolve your personal boundaries; all it means is that you try as much as
you can to take the higher road in all your confrontations, which in turn minimises
your own defence mechanisms.

So just for today, silently
recognise the divine inallof your encounters. Not only
does it allow you to appreciate those of whom you love dearly, it also helps
you to embrace those whom you do not.

Saturday, 10 August 2013

When you recognise your own shortcomings, it can be quite daunting to deal with the task of being extremely honest with yourself and making room to change certain behaviours that no longer serve you. Resistance to letting go of learned reactions keeps us stuck in a pattern that restricts our growth into the person that we are destined to become.

We justify our behaviours by blaming someone else, stating it is the "other person's" fault that we are like this, that they cause you to react in the way that you do, that ultimately YOU are not responsible for your own behaviours but circumstance and everything other than yourself is the cause of your discomfort.

All of these elements of resistance are clear signs that literally scream, it is not them it is YOU! Why are we so unwilling to take responsibility for our own actions, our own feelings of discomfort and be truly honest with how we interact with others? In the Course in Miracles, it states "would you rather be happy or right." This does not mean that you allow others to take advantage of your own personal boundaries, it just means that you recognise that any stance that makes you feel that you are right and the other person is wrong, is a wakeup call that you need to exercise more compassion towards others in regards to their own spiritual journey as well as to your own.

There are times when my irritation of others behaviours ignite me from a calm blue light into a raging inferno in a matter of seconds. I do eventually talk myself out of my rage and calm down usually within the hour but I had to look closely at my own behaviour and pinpoint what causes me to react in such a way.

In the book The Handbook to Higher Consciousness by Ken Keyes Jnr, he lists twelve pathways of which you memorise to help you diffuse your reactions to others and bring the responsibility back to yourself:

"I take full responsibility here and now for everything I experience,

for it is my own programming that creates my actions

and also influences the reactions of people around me."

This statement allows you to recognise that it is our own learned habitual behaviours that create our actions and causes reactions in others. It reminds you to be responsible for how you react around others, however uncomfortable it may feel, and always try to take the higher road in everything that you do.

So this weekend, take courage in looking at your own short-comings and practice at least once today to change your reaction to a situation to one that does not puff you up, but allows you to give space to yourself and others to flow rather than resist.

Friday, 26 July 2013

This morning I wanted to pose a question, Why do people (i.e.You) find it difficult to put in the work for their own self-development? Why is it people (again You) insist on complaining about what is lacking in their life, what it is they don’t have, what it is that they want, but have no intention of doing the work to achieve their desires! In an age where we have many law of attraction books such as “The Secret and The Magic” to name but a few, they all encourage the reader to change their thoughts to what they want rather than what they do not want. However, I think many may have misunderstood its message and have become apathetic, in that as long as a person thinks about what they desire, they would magically get it!

Now don’t get me wrong, I have both of those wonderful books on my shelf and they have helped me enormously, however, thinking about being wealthy didn't suddenly make me wealthy. Nor imagining this great life I desired in extensive detail before I went to bed every night did not magically change my sorry situation. No, the information contained in those books only truly started working for me once I realised that I had to do the work (and the suggested methods) to change my entire belief system about myself and the world. It was only then, wonderful opportunities and experiences started to occur in my life.

Just as it is so very easy to order absolutely anything on the internet, we are very much an “I want it now” society; we lack patience with ourselves and with others. We lack cultivating a spirit of compassion for our fellow man and we lack the conviction to do for ourselves what we expect others to do for us.

You desire more peace in your life, but you are not willing to take steps to stop the negative chatter. You desire to be more fulfilled in your career and yet you do absolutely nothing in your attempt to find a more rewarding experience. You desire a wonderful soul enriching relationship but you do not do the work in becoming what you desire in your mate! I have sat for many years, waiting. Waiting for a sign to take action, waiting for something, anything to kick start me into living a life that I have dreamed, not realising that the only person stopping myself from doing any of these things was having faith in myself knowing that I could.

Right here right now, I am here to tell you that absolutely nothing stands in your way for changes to occur in your life or your circumstances other than yourself. Stop waiting and start doing. If you have a big problem with your negative self-talk, then take action, buy a book, go on a course or find a mentor so that you can get the help. Stop passively sitting there and complaining about what is wrong in your life and do something to help change it. Trusting the guidance within teaches you to recognise the signs when you are to wait and exercise patience and when you are to actively participate in obtaining the life you desire.

Ascertain what your own Achilles heel is and then apply a method that helps you to action that change. An addendum here is that it must be consistently applied!!!

This wonderful affirmation (and a fantastic tool to use) from the book “No Matter What,” by Lisa Nichols is simple, short, sweet and empowering.

Friday, 19 July 2013

Our self-talk is extremely important to our development in becoming the grandest version of our greatest vision of ourselves. What you say has the power to render you powerless and weak, or strong and limitless. Rarely do we offer reverence to the words we speak both out loud and silently. If you tell yourself something often enough, that which you say will become your belief and ultimately will manifest into reality. This reminds me of a quote:

Watch your thoughts, they become words.Watch your words, they become actions.Watch your actions, they become habits.Watch your habits, they become your character.Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.

I cringe inwardly when I hear people say something about themselves that describe a personality flaw. The remark can be so forceful that I can hear the total belief in the statement. For example, I have said to friends “Tell yourself in the mirror I love you!” their faces contort with horror rejecting even the notion that they could say such a thing to themselves, “Oh no, I can’t do that!” They literally look disgusted at the mere thought of saying it out loud let alone in their head.

Who do you think you are rejecting when you can’t even say those three beautiful words to yourself? How can you possibly love someone else with all honesty when you have no love for yourself? If you have no love for yourself it reduces your ability to create loving personal boundaries that deter others from over stepping their mark with you, which in turn leads to YOU feeling hurt.

Loving yourself is not vanity, it is however a very subtle form of narcissism but not excessively. True love encompasses kindness, forgiveness, empathy and is totally unconditional. Do you practice unconditional love for yourself? “Oh I will love myself when I am thin, I will love myself when I earn more money, I will love myself when the other person changes their behaviour!” No, no, no! Love yourself now, in this very moment, for there is only now, there is only this present moment.

It always surprises me how in the past I could tell someone else that I loved them but could not tell myself those very same words. Now I recognise the contradiction, I recognise that only by loving myself totally, emphatically and with great reverence enables me to give to someone else the highest version of love. “Do unto others as you would do unto yourself” comes to mind, I would add an instruction that you do this to yourself first and foremost before including others.

Just for today, be the kindest person that you possibly can to the most beautiful, the most deserving and the most worthy person that you know……..and that is to YOURSELF!

Friday, 5 July 2013

When it comes to moving from an experience that we no longer
desire to a new one, I notice that in some people there seems to be resistance
to this change. There is a sense of
inertia and apathy to their circumstances justifying the “I can’t do anything
about my life so why bother,” statements!

Why do you think we are so resistant to saving ourselves
from the mental turmoil that we inflict on a daily basis? Why wouldn’t we do all that we can and put in
the necessary work so that we can enjoy life by living through an experience
rather than battling and struggling against the flow of life?

This morning I contemplated in what way I resist against the
flow of life and what were the reasons that I created in my mind that cause me
to do so? When I was able to dig through
all the crud of excuses that was justifying the reasons why I was in such a bad
mood this morning, I realised that ultimately ALL of my issues can be traced to
one cause and one cause only. That is
fear!

This morning it was a fear of lack. I became angry at the world and how
unsupportive that it felt to me, how I was absolutely fed up with not getting
what I wanted in the speed that I wanted it and proverbially stamped my foot in
the frustration that I held at life. I didn’t
want to listen to the voice that told me, be patient, everything happens in the
right time and that I have absolutely everything that I need right here and
now. No I was in the grip of my petulant
ego who was furiously throwing all of its toys out of the pram!

I chuckle as I write this because I watched myself act out
this tantrum, I observed myself without judgement and waited for the moment to
past. After I vented my frustrations in
my journal I closed my eyes and simply said “show me another way to see this.” I took a few deep breaths and repeated this statement
with every out breath I took and this was my reply:

“The sun is shining
today as a reminder of the light that is in YOU, is a reflection of the light
in others. Why on Earth would you want
to stand in darkness when there is so much light around you?

You are created
perfect, whole and complete. You are
fully supported by the Universe and your needs are Always met. Embrace the beauty of this day, marvel in it,
look at nature and recognise the oneness in all things. There is nothing to fear, for love carries upon
its wings the truth and truth always diminishes falsehood. There is no lack. Only your ego’s thoughts
about lack which are not based in truth.

Feel your fear, feel
your anger, feel your frustration.
Honour those feelings by really looking at them and they will disappear
as you welcome the light of this moment.

For in this present
moment there is absolutely nothing wrong with your life and you have nothing to
fear.”

This my dear friends is the awesome power of meditation. My inner guide reminded me that how I think
has an impact upon everyone because we ALL have the same inner light and are
part of the great one of
creation. It reminded me that in the
past where I have had the same fears they were unfounded because everything
turned out just fine. It reminded me
that if I lean to what is true, that which is not disappears. It reminded me to be in the present and not
project my fears into the future.

I share this with you in the hope that when you have fears
that rise up in you at any given moment in your life, instead of struggling, or fighting the fear,
turn it over to your wonderful inner guide who speaks to you when you learn to
quiet the incessant panic and chattering of the ego. I know I was supposed to write about the
benefits of meditation, of which there are many, however it seems that my
spirit was moved to give you a live example instead.

Friday, 28 June 2013

This morning as I pondered as to what I would write today, I was guided to discuss the most important factor of my tool kit that keeps me peaceful, happy and centred, which is that of meditation. Now what I am about to say is without apology whatsoever and I stand by this statement forever. In the quest to becoming a more joyful, happy and confident being you have to meditate. I know this statement comes off as a bit strong, as in most of my writings, I try to lead you gently to think and act in an alternative way to what you believe is your nature, but on this point, the edict is necessary.

In my experience on this journey to my big self, I used to meditate every morning without fail. Very simply I would put a piece of relaxing music on my iPod and did what is termed as “sitting in the power.” I would just quiet my mind, focus on my breathing and listen to the music. That was it, I would have thoughts flowing in and out, usually about the things that I had to do that day or matters that were a concern to me. Sometimes, I would slip up and create a dialogue with the offending thought, but I would catch myself and remember to focus upon my breathing and the thought would go away. This meditation would last for the duration of the track that I had selected, usually for five minutes and then I would open my eyes and continue with my day. Sadly, I stopped this practice and at the same time aborted the good progress I was making.

In hindsight, I now realise that this was truly the source of my power and I now meditate regularly, both in the morning and in the evening, sometimes more. I would interchange between guided meditations, or just sit in the power. I also pray during these times and open up myself for guidance from my higher self by just stilling my mind. Further, I set my intention for the day too with an affirmation from one of my teachers (as all the authors that move me are my teachers), Doreen Virtue. In her book, Daily Guidance from your Angels, I use the following affirmation every morning without fail and I will tell you emphatically that I have had not one bad day by doing this. I am at least 70% happy every day and this is my wish for you too, actually, I wish 100% happiness for you each day.

“I send love into the hours that lie before me, and I saturate the entire day with great joy. Every moment is overflowing with love, harmony and cooperation.”

When I say this each morning and without any effort on my part, I actually enjoy my day and my interactions, even when I have a little bit of road rage, which nowadays is very fleeting. There are countless benefits to meditation, which I will go into detail next week, but for now do your big self the honour by trying to sit in the power this weekend for five minutes after you arise in the morning, say the above affirmation after you meditate and just go about your day.

The phrase, “Rome was not built in a day,” comes to mind here, however, the subtle shifts that you make in your daily practices will build you a foundation so strong that nothing outside of yourself will shake your centre.

Friday, 21 June 2013

You have a story that you tell about yourself, which you identify as the truth for you. This story could be about the way you feel about your body, for example “I have a fat stomach, or “I have flabby arms.” Alternatively, it could be a story about your health, “I am always sick,” or “I have a low immunity,” or about your upbringing, family issues and the big one “Oh woe is me, my life is so hard and I have to struggle for everything.” We all have a story about one thing or another of which we have now assimilated as part of our personality. So much so, that if we were to change the story, you may feel as if you are losing part of your identity.

You will notice that I have used the word “story” with which to describe this condition because in truth that is exactly what it is. “Ahh,” you cry, “It isn’t a story, it is true, because I am fat and I do struggle with life because my reality tells me so!” Well I cannot argue with that, your reality does tell you so, why, because you actually created it and this creation begins (and also ends) with the story that you first told yourself. Your purpose on this planet is to create, you are in fact an AWESOME creative being and your creative process starts with the thoughts that you think about yourself which eventually turn into beliefs. When you tell yourself something enough times, you will actually start to believe it and this, in turn creates your reality. Therefore, would it not be more beneficial to you and your reality if you were to delete your old story and replace it with a new one. Now first let me state, this is NOT a magical process whereby you wake up one morning stand in front of the mirror with your eyes closed and say I am no longer fat I am thin, then when you open your eyes you have this amazing body staring back at you. (If only :-) ) No, this recreating your story is primarily a deep acceptance of who you are right here and right now. It is about accepting every single part of you, even the parts that you dislike and still learning to love yourself in spite of the story that you have told.

Your body has tantrums by making you ill or by not complying with your will when you do not give it the love and respect that it deserves. You are first and foremost a spiritual being living a physical experience. This means the spirit originates first and is housed in a physical body second, which you learn to honour so that your spiritual self can reside in comfort. To take the tentative steps to change your story, find something that you say about yourself that is negative and you have said it repeatedly out of habit. As an example, I used to complain repeatedly about my double stomachs, yes, there were two of them, one that kept my boobs up and another that sat on my lap!!!!!! I initially struggled to say this, but I learned to say out loud whilst standing in the mirror “I love my stomachs (notice the plural here)” and I had to keep saying it, over and over and over again until I actually grew to love them. As I grew to love my stomachs for the first time since having my children, they have, I am very proud to say, disappeared! I have not dieted and I have not fasted, I have just learned to love every single part of me that I first disliked.

So this weekend, find a story that you would like to change and take the first steps to liberation by using love and the expression of such to orchestrate this change.

In the words of Marianne Williamson, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”

So go on and be powerful, change your story and use words that give you life!

Friday, 14 June 2013

Today I would like you all to
open your hearts to loving thoughts and kindness for the weekend.Each and every one of you have a unique gift
with which the world is waiting to receive, and in order to tap into this gift
you need to learn to listen to that wonderful guidance system within that
always encourages and loves you.You
know the ego will fool you into believing the worst about yourself.It will highlight every flaw, make you feel
less than you are and stifle your creativity with fears that are just stories
that you have created in your head.In fact,
it keeps you from being your true self.One who is ALL-powerful, unlimited, loving and kind.

On my journey, I have learned
that I am not the flawed person that I thought I once was. I have learned that I am loved and am
lovable. I have learned to be patient
with my growth and development, trusting that all the experiences that I create
can be changed with a shift of my thoughts.
I have learned to forgive myself when I make a mistake and in doing so I
learn to forgive others and try not to hold any judgements. More importantly, I
have learned to quiet my mind and sit in the stillness of my being that helps
me to connect to the divine voice within.

To allow love and kindness to
operate in you, you first have to be loving and kind to yourself. Now, through my own experience I know that I
would say I love myself, but I would act in unloving ways, thus there would be
incongruence between my thought and action. I had to learn to say I love ME and
mean it, by doing loving things for myself.
For example, I may run a warm bath with salts, essential oils and
candles; give myself a facial then moisturise my skin with wonderful oils. Now in the act of doing this, I would take my
time to anoint my skin. I would think
loving thoughts about different areas of my body and really try to connect with
it. Our bodies are amazing works of
scientific phenomena. Dr Deepak Chopra
states that the elements that make up a star in the sky is the same elements
that are contained within the body, in fact 93% of the mass in our body IS
stardust. Therefore, you are officially a star!!!!! When you respect and honour your body, with
the thoughts you think, the food you eat and the exercise you give it, the body
responds by giving you a very healthy vessel with which to operate. Your body remains amazing because when we do
abuse it horrendously it still shows up for us!!!

Loving yourself means feeding
your soul, feeding the Spirit first within which in turn reflects its light in
the body that houses it.

So this weekend, honour your
true self. Stop the harsh thought that
you have been accustomed to say about yourself and do something wonderful by
learning to tap into the silence of your mind so you can hear what your body is
trying to tell you.

Thursday, 30 May 2013

One of the greatest gifts that I bestowed upon myself as I
journeyed to become an active co-creator in my life was the ability to relieve
the enormous amount of pressure I would inflict upon my mind. In the past, my thoughts would jump from one seeming
problem to another, creating a feeling of anxiety at what I thought were issues
that were beyond my control to solve. As
much as I would mull a thought process in my mind, for example “how am I going
to find the money to put petrol in my car when I only have £5.00 in the bank?”
I would always end up back where I started, feeling hopeless and helpless about
the situation. The more I struggled to
find a solution the less one materialised and so the cycle of pain and worry
would hold me in its grip perpetuating those lower energy feelings.

Nowadays, I refuse to entertain such feelings because I
actually expect miracles in my life!
Through tireless work and effort, I have totally revamped my thought
processes from one of lack to one of abundance. I now recognise the innate infinite power that
I hold in my heart and mind with which to create my reality according to my
desires. So what is it that I do? Well, there are many tools I use to "get
me out of my head," but I will share with you my frequent go to in my tool
kit and that is I get out of my OWN way.
Now this may seem like a “stick your head in the sand” scenario but
trust me it is not. I literally hand all
of my so-called problems to my inner guide by just affirming the following:

“Inner Guide, I hand
this problem to you for healing and clarity. Thank you”

Once I say these words, I refuse to entertain the
machinations of my mind to bring the problem back to me because I realise and
have finally recognised that my current thought processes will always keep me
chasing my tail, the result of which leave me stressed and worrying
incessantly. I have learned that there
IS another way, I actually have a choice and my PHD I gained in worrying is
just not it!

It was a bit frightening to let go of the control I thought
I had over my mind but I looked past the veil of my fears and stepped into a
realm of new and uncharted territory, which has given me the ability to have more
joy in my life instantaneously.

Ask yourself these questions:

·Am I happy with how I am choosing to live my
life?

·Are the desires for the life I want being
reflected in my surroundings?

·What is the worse that could happen if I made
another choice?

I urge you to open yourself up to your TRUE self that is
trying to get your attention, for it knows far more than you realise and it
ALWAYS has your best interest at heart.

Friday, 17 May 2013

When you
embark upon changing the way that you think, there is one prerequisite that
needs to be in place before you can really see a lasting change in your
perception of the world. In order to embrace the new, you first have to
be willing to let go of the old. This means you cannot fill a cup that is
already full and what is required is a total system reboot of your mind.
Wiping clean your old definitions and meanings that have been built up
through your life experiences in love.

The outside media would have you
concentrate on the romantic element of love, but rarely show you how to sustain
love once the heady stages of a relationship begins to change into something
more meaningful.

I am having to go back to the
drawing board to question and understand what it really means to love? More
importantly, how can I love myself enough to be able to love someone
else? I found myself looking to a passage in the Bible, which states:

" Love is
patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not
proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not
self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of
wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the
truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes,
always perseveres."

I Corinthians 13:4

This is where I begin my journey
to love; a reminder that love in its truest form is the most powerful force of
the Universe. I ask myself, how am I patient? Do I practice forgiveness?
Can I trust what I say and do, and are my thoughts coming from the basis of
love? I had to admit that I really did not know love at all, but, I amwillingto explore this issue and to delve
deep within, to find the answers as to how I can learn to love myself and
others unconditionally.

I invite you to look at what love
means to you, moreover ask yourself the question" how much love do I
shower upon myself that helps me create the FEELING of love?" Is
your self-talk kind, do you give yourself wonderful treats appreciating who you
are? Can you even tell yourself "I love you?"

If we are willing to look at our
own individual fears to love and heal the pain of our past, we can embark upon
a wondrous journey to knowing, honouring and most of all loving ourselves
deeply.

So just for today, give yourself
a healthy dose of self-love by saying or doing something wonderful for
YOU. For those who are not in the space to say something loving let me say
this to you,

"You are beautiful and loved.
Thank you, for YOUR light blesses the world today."

Friday, 10 May 2013

There are two voices within each of us, that of the ego and that
of our Soul. These voices communicate
with us through our conscious and subconscious thoughts. To some degree, we are in conflict with these
two points of view. One voice is quiet
and loving; it does not try to gain your attention or shout to make itself
heard. It speaks in simple language and
it never attacks. The other voice is
aggressive and defensive. It never
speaks kindly about you or anyone else and it is very loud. It almost
feels like it is the more dominant of the two.
This voice can give you a feeling of hopelessness because as much as you
desire to hear the quiet voice, your habits dictate that you most certainly
engage with the voice of the ego. To be
clear, the voice of the ego keeps you separated from the voice of the Soul and
from your fellow man. It creates the
dialogue that leads to the feelings of anger, despair, desperation, resentment,
guilt and more importantly, it keeps you in a place of fear ALL the time.

I have mentioned the
following quote "if you don't go within, you will go without," this
means you have to learn to discern the voices.
Furthermore, you have a choice as to which voice you will listen. As with all habits, persistence is the key in
breaking them, however, and this is a key point here, only YOU can decide
whether you have had enough of listening to the ego. Only YOU can get so frustrated with what is
not working in your life that you literally stamp your feet and shout “enough!” Only when you reach the zenith of
dissatisfaction regarding your perception of the world will you then be able to
open up and begin to hear with more clarity the voice of your soul.

The ego (which in Latin means “I”) is the part of your
psyche that experiences the outside world and reacts to it. In order to heal the voice of the ego, you
have to be willing and open to see the world through the perception of your
soul. Nothing outside of you will bring
you happiness ad infinitum. True
happiness comes from within but it can only be experienced if you are willing
to give up your attachment to the ego’s voice and its insane view of the world.

You have a wonderful internal teacher who waits for you to open
your heart to his/her guidance. Do
something amazing, affirm, “I am willing to see this differently,” when the
voice of the ego has you in its grip, this statement alone has to power to enable
you to welcome everyday miracles into your life.